ANNERLEY
Three decades of Italodance energy and counting…
One third of the Eurodance Vibes team is world famous studio vocalist, songwriter and performer Annerley Gordon. Annerley’s lyrics (Corona, Whigfield) and vocals have featured on hundreds of Italodance and Eurobeat songs in the 90’s under many aliases including Annalise, TH Express, J.K., Ally & Jo and her solo project Ann Lee. She released two albums as Ann Lee, ‘Dreams’ in 1999 and ‘So Alive’ in 2007, as well as eurobeat album ‘I Am’ in 2021 and latest album ‘Reflections’ in 2024.
Her first single as Ann Lee, ’2 Times’, was released in 1999 and was a huge success, reaching No.1 in Belgium and No.2 in Ireland, New Zealand, Denmark and Scotland. It reached platinum sales status in Australia and Belgium and gold in Austria, France, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden and the UK.
The original mix has now been streamed on Spotify more than 115 million times and had more than 38 million views on YouTube, while her new 2024 remix of the song in collaboration with Dimitri Vegas, Steve Aoki and Sound of Legend has
been streamed more than 16 million times. In 2024, Annerley had almost nine million listeners on Spotify with 30 million streams from 183 countries.
THE BEGINNING
Can you tell me a little bit about your background?
I’m part of a wonderfully normal family – a large one with four brothers and two sisters. A relatively poor family but rich in values and principles that I have grown to respect and love through the years as I became more independent. By no means an academic, basically winging my way through school then to be hit by sudden maturity through the face of adversity!
How did you first become involved in the music industry, and did you always want to be a singer an songwriter?
It was something I had never thought of – I loved to sing in private but it became a “job” through need and thankfully I started to work with good honest people such as Theo Spagna, Giancarlo Pasquini, Mauro Farina and Stefano Cundari who taught me so
much and helped me learn on the job. How lucky is that!!
Who inspired you to want to create music and what age were you when you first started singing?
I think I was about 23 or 24 when I made my first recording (‘Baby Rescue Me’). On that occasion I brought a friend along with me to the studio as I was so afraid of not being able to do it on my own. Melodies have always inspired me (more
than rhythm) and I used to harmonise everything I listened to, from Fleetwood Mac and Meatloaf to Howard Jones, and I felt safe within those harmonies because I just knew they were right! (ear training is very important!)
What do you enjoy the most about working in the music industry?
I love the sense of freedom that singing gives me – it gives me a sense of security. Now I love the stage too, falling back on my experiences studying theatre as a teenager in Sheffield, my home town. I think theatre is an absolute must for everyone.. there’s nothing like a good uplifting musical!
THE 90’S ERA
In the 90’s when you worked as a session vocalist in Italy, approximately how many songs did you record during this time for SAIFAM and other dance labels, and what did the recording process involve?
The beginning of the 90s was a golden opportunity in Italy and I’m so glad I took it on headlong. Session singing in English was where the possibilities lay – my first language accompanied by an immense musical memory made me an ideal candidate. Covering famous tracks in albums such as the famous four album ‘Solitaire’ collection with Stefano Cundari then many other pieces with Theo Spagna and Mauro Farina were a blast! Other wonderful producers - Giancarlo Pasquini and Andrea Leonardi even gave me the chance to try out my own lyrics to many eurobeat (HI-NRG) songs and I just loved it! My pen nearly always caught fire from writing too fast and my brain was always on overdrive! Now there’s a lot more involved in the music industry.
Technology has simplified some things but made others a lot harder. Competition is now rife and I’m still not sure how I feel about that. Up to now I reckon I must have recorded and/or written over 600 tracks – not bad for a session singer!
My favourite songs featuring your vocals are F.U.N.O. ‘Bee In My Bonnet’ and T.H. Express ‘I’m On Your Side’. How many of your own songs do you have in your personal collection, and if you had to pick your favourite songs from your 90’s music catalogue, what are they?
I would pick the people I’ve worked with, not the tracks I sang or wrote. People are hugely important and my experiences with some of the best in the category have been fantastic! Through the years we still collaborate in some form – producers, musicians, promoters etc. I still perform ‘I’m On Your Side’ on stage in various parts of the world and people love it! One of my dearest friends is co-producer of ‘Bee In My Bonnet’ (Vincenzo Pinto), a track that I still adore and hope to be able to perform live one day. My collection of records is a bit small but I know there are some real collectors out there.
THE MUSIC BUSINESS
Reflecting on your continued success over the last 30+ years, what do you think are the most important qualities of a hit record?
A hit record is a mix of good collaboration, a good beat, a catchy but simple melody, great people, no rushing (I say this even though I can produce a full lyric while listening to a demo for the first time, eg ‘No More Tears’ from Fun Fun, ‘You Could Be The End’, ‘Donna’ and ‘Cheerio’). As a writer I have my personal opinion, as a singer I have my personal interpretation and the producer has his or hers – it’s all about collaboration. Obviously a big dose of luck is always a key ingredient!
What has been the greatest accomplishment in your music career to date, and how has this shaped your career and outlook on life since then?
In terms of famous songs, ‘Rhythm Of The Night’ holds the crown! After 30 odd years it’s still going strong, thanks to great vocals, numerous versions and remixes - and of course thanks to an amazing front woman! There are others too… '2 Times’ has just hit the limelight (and charts) again with Steve Aoki, Dimitri Vegas and the Sound Of Legend team (I feel so damned lucky!!). ‘Think
Of You’ and ‘Close To You’ by Whigfield are evergreens too, not to mention ‘I’m On Your Side’ by TH Express and numerous others. My musical career has had it’s ups and downs but somehow I’ve always had faith that if it was meant to be it will be. Being a mum made me think of “Plan B” as I couldn’t and wouldn’t be away from my son all the time so I took some English
teaching opportunities (which I still do now) that gave me the possibility to be there for and educate my kid as I saw fit. Josh is now an amazing generous, mature and bilingual young man. The return to performing was a breeze and a blast!
What music awards have you won during the course of your career, and where do you keep these?
Some gold and platinum discs for ‘2 Times’, a BMI award and ASCAP awards for ‘Ritmo’ (Black Eyed Peas). The ASCAPs are on a shelf in my kitchen next to the BMI award. The rest are not on display – I’m not a museum piece!
Some vocalists don’t have much say in how their singles and albums are produced. How much input and involvement did you have with the production of your records back in the 90’s compared to now?
When I started singing I basically knew nothing. The producer knew more than me and helped me through it and I readily accepted all advice to whoever I work with! After a few more years experience and maybe having made some kind of
name for myself, I feel can give my opinion. In essence I’m just a vocalist but I’ve come to understand how beat, harmony
and lyrics intertwine so I think I can have my say now! However once again it’s all about collaboration and valuing the expertise of each other and I am firm on that. Everybody can bring refreshing ideas to the table and those ideas must be respected, especially where creativity is concerned.
In which countries or continents are your Eurobeat and Italo dance songs the most popular, and which songs get the loudest crowd reactions when you are performing?
For now I’m mainly performing in Spain or South America where the punters adore ‘2 Times’, ‘Ring My Bell’, ‘I Drove All Night’ and ‘I’m On Your Side’ etc. They’re festivals of 90s dance music and I certainly can’t complain about that!
What is your best piece of advice for someone who wishes to become a singer or songwriter in the music industry today?
Keep your feet firmly on the ground, carry on creating because you simply love doing it, always sing, create, write – whatever your field, constantly train your ears and your voice, simply because you love it. Always be humble, and use your head but also listen to your heart. Nowadays it’s so difficult to get somewhere in the music business, too much competition, too much “disposable” music – real talent can get lost in all this. I would say keep your day job but always nurture your dream!
What is it about dance music that makes you continue to be passionate about the genre after so many years of singing and songwriting?
I just have to be backstage seeing the crowds having such a great time dancing and singing along to make me realise I’ll never lose my enthusiasm for this genre. The organisers and stage and sound technicians, promoters and drivers all work so very hard to get a show together and the result is always a blast! Nineties dance music will never fade, just like rock-and-roll, blues, soul and
classical music will always be loved. Rhythm IS a dancer and dancing is freedom!
How did you originally meet the other co-founders of Eurodance Vibes, Edwin and Mark, and how long have you all known each other?
I first met Edwin in 2015 when he came to Italy and asked me if we could meet up to sign autographs. Edwin has the gift of diplomacy which is a great thing to have in business! My first official meeting with Mark was in Rotterdam in 2016 at
the I Venti D’Azzuro Christmas show (let me say that Marcello and the VDA team are a bunch of wonderful, magnificent and knowledgable DJs and we’ve been friends from the start of the 90s!). Mark, as a life-long fan, came to the show with his lifetime pal Edwin and I was struck by his intelligence and wit – just like Edwin. Both of them went from fans to firm friends and it seemed natural that we should team our knowledge of 90's dance music to form the label Eurodance Vibes – or EDV as it’s generally known. I have to add that Mark and Edwin probably know more about my music than I do!
How long does it usually take to write the lyrics for a new song once you have been given the instrumental demo track, and what inspires you to create these? Do you prefer to write songs on your own or collaborate with others during this process?
Many times lyrics or a principle or theme for lyrics or even just a title can come to me as I am listening to a demo for the first time, in as little as 15 seconds, but there are more difficult ones that take more time. I love words – I have lots of them! I like song writing on my own but also take into account that there will probably be a little intervention so I try not to get too possessive!
Which is your favourite part of creating a new song - writing the lyrics, recording the vocals in the studio or performing the song live in public?
Definitely recording! I adore singing and have slowly got used to the idea that I’m not bad at it so that’s my thing!
If you could go back in time to the 90’s, what advice would you give to your younger self?
I’ve often asked myself this question but end up arguing! If I had known more, maybe I could have been more assertive and obstacles wouldn’t have tried to stop me. But one learns a lot more in dealing with obstacles and triumphing on the other side than having it all easy, so looking back I don’t think I would change a thing - I’ve been very very lucky!
What is the most valuable lesson you have learned in your music career?
I’ve learnt (or I already knew) that whatever I sang, wrote, co-produced etc, as a “1st grader” it was important to enter into a project giving absolute respect to whomever I was working with as they quite possibly knew more about my job than I did, therefore I had to be ready to learn from them. Of course there have been some collaborators during the years who haven’t been so out and out honest with me – but that is on their conscience, not mine!
Which musical artist would you most like to collaborate with on a future project, and why?
Rag’n Bone Man, Tiziano Ferro, Renato Zero, Dhany and Sandy, Eliza, Nat King Cole (no longer possible) and many others - mainly for either vocal contrast or for sheer talent!
What kind of music do you listen to these days when you are not playing new demos or songs being produced by the Eurodance Vibes artists?
I upload various albums on to a USB stick to listen to in the car. My car is the only place I can listen to music freely and I often do long drives. All tracks are then sifted into alphabetical order, no matter whom the artist, so I have about 3-4 hours of total variety. Right now I’m in the company of: Bryan Adams, Presley, Whitney, Annerley :-), Nickleback, Spandau, Streisand; Meatloaf, U2, Bublé, Summer, Womack and Womack, Anita Baker, Sia and Abba. All this variety is great for singing along to and I often warm up my voice with these tracks on my way to a studio!
If you had to choose a career other than singing and songwriting, what would it be, and why?
Probably a career in soft furnishings or a life in the theatre… anything involving creativity!
Describe yourself in three words.
Only three? Ok… annoying, pragmatic and workaholic!!